Archbishop Cupich’s installation program, featuring music and the coat of arms

For those who missed it, you can download the full program right here. 

After all the debate that erupted online over the archbishop’s selection of “All Are Welcome” at the vespers service, liturgists might want to note that the installation Mass itself included “How Lovely Are the Messengers“ by Mendelssohn, and “Taste and See,” along with two personal favorites of mine, “Lord, When You Came” and, for the recessional, “O God, Beyond All Praising” (a perennial at my parish.)

I also note, curiously, that one of the deacons for the Mass is identified in the program as “Rev. Mr.” and the other as “Mr.” Presumably, one was a seminarian and the other a permanent deacon.

Speaking of permanent deacons: the new archbishop is meeting with them and their wives tonight.  And a celebrated deacon, Paul J. Sullivan, designed the archbishop’s coat of arms which, among other things, includes these telling details:

As leader of an ecclesiastical province, called a “Metropolitan Archbishop,” the left side of the shield is bears the arms of his jurisdiction, the Archdiocese of Chicago. They are composed of a golden (yellow) field on which a phoenix is depicted coming forth from a ball of flames, a symbol of rebirth in ancient mythology where the bird arose anew from the ashes. This is symbolic of the great City of Chicago that arose anew from the catastrophic fire of October 8, 1871. On the breast of the phoenix is the monogram of the Holy Name, the IHS, in gold (yellow) recalling that the Cathedral-church of the See City is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. On each of the wingtips of the phoenix is a gold (yellow) fleur-de-lis, a form of lily often associated with French heritage, to honor the French missionaries, Joliet and Marquette, who brought The Faith to the region of Chicago.

For his personal arms, seen in the dexter impalement of the design, Archbishop Cupich, has retained the arms, with some modifications, that were adopted when he became bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota.

The upper portion of the Archbishop’s personal arms is composed of a blue field on which are displayed a simple crozier (bishop’s staff) in gold (yellow) that is placed upon two silver (white) lighted candles. The candles honor the Archbishop’s Baptismal patron, on whose feast day, throats are blessed with candles being held in a crossed position. These candles, joined with the crozier form a “Chi-Rho” the Greek letters “XP,” that are the first two letters of the name Christ in Greek. The blue field on which these charges are displayed honors Mary, the “parting gift of Christ” to the church universal (Preface from the Mass of the Feast of Mary, Mother of God.)

The upper portion of the design is divided from the lower portion by a silver (white) wavy barlet to represent the Missouri River that forms the eastern border of the Archdiocese of Omaha, where Archbishop Cupich first exercised his presbyteral ministry. Below the river, on a field bearing the red color found in the arms of the Archdiocese of Chicago is a gold (yellow) circle and fleur-de-lis, taken from the arms of the Dioceses of Rapid City and Spokane, respectively, where the Archbishop served before being named to the Metropolitan See of Chicago.

In the left (dexter) portion of the base, angularly divided, is a field of crimson and white checks, that is part of the arms of Croatia, the land and heritage of the Archbishop’s immigrant family.

For his motto Archbishop Cupich has retained the phrase from the Gospel of John 20:21, recounting Christ’s appearance to his disciples after the Resurrection, and His greeting: “PEACE BE WITH YOU.” This is also the greeting of a bishop to the assembly at the Eucharist.

The achievement is completed with the external ornaments that are gold (yellow) archiepiscopal processional cross, (with two cross members), that tends above and below the shield, and a pontifical hat, called a galero, with its ten tassels, in four rows, on either side of the shield. These are the heraldic insignia of a prelate of the rank of archbishop by instruction of the Holy See.